Merging traditional learning methods with e-learning is one of the best ways of creating impactful training especially for employees who work virtually and are not reporting in to office every day. Catalyst recently took up an assignment on creating such integrated learning tools for one of the biggest FMCG companies in India. The task was to get their on-field sales force equipped with new ways of working which focused on execution excellence every day.

Step 1: Creating the structure of the learning intervention

Rather than relying only on classroom training or e-learning, Catalyst blended the two. A half day classroom training module was created to be used by the managers in a classroom setting to introduce the new ways of working and clarify questions and concerns if any. Paralelly, an hour long e-learning module was created which was to be logged into within a month of completion of the classroom session. This was to act as a refresher for the participants as well as test their understanding of the subject matter through a quiz.

Step 2: Making the program engaging

To make the entire program engaging, we used the concept of cricket (as the World Cup fever is on and the target group connects well with the theme). In the classroom module, parallels were drawn between the cricket field and the sales field. Further, many practical caselets, quizzes and games were introduced to ensure that participants internalized the learnings. The classroom session also saw the launch of a contest to win a bat autographed by a top cricketer. This was linked with the e-learning module. The e-learning module, again was in the format of a cricketing game at the end of which there was a bat to be won. During the game, participants had the option of consulting their captain or coach to get tips and win the game.

Step 3: Ensuring seamless execution

To ensure seamless execution of the entire program, a train the trainer program was conducted with the managers across India to help them acquaint themselves with the content and to understand basics of facilitation. These sessions were conducted jointly with the sales HR team to ensure buy-in. The managers were encouraged to use their on-field knowledge to reinforce the concepts used in the learning program and to get buy-in from their teams.

The program is to be rolled out within a week and we are confident of a great outcome.